Braves Can't Reach Deal With Griffey Jr.

Braves managers, players, and fans alike all seem to be confused these days as to what exactly the Braves franchise has done wrong, and why players seem to be turning their backs on the organization. 

Wednesday night, Ken Griffey Jr. became the fourth high-target player this offseason that has failed to sign with the Braves. The key point being that, however you look at it, only three key additions have been made, and all three are in the starting rotation. And don't forget, the Braves also lost team icon John Smoltz to the Boston Red Sox in the process.

The storyline for Griffey Jr. was that at the beginning of the week, he contacted Braves third baseman Chipper Jones about his urge to become a Brave.

Griffey Jr. stated that the Braves spring training site at the Wide World of Sports Complex in Walt Disney World is located just twenty minutes from his home. He also wanted to play in Atlanta because it is much closer to his family than Seattle, which was also interested in Griffey.

On Tuesday, an article came out in the Atlanta Journal Constitution saying that Griffey had already made a deal with the Braves. Seemingly upset by the report, Griffey stalled to reach an agreement Tuesday, which was his initial plan.

By Wednesday evening, he had  signed a deal with the Mariners that included some post-career incentives for him.

So Griffey is added to the list of Rafael Furcal, A.J. Burnett, and Jake Peavy as players who the Braves had heavily targeted, but failed to acquire.

While the additions of Derek Lowe from L.A., Javier Vazquez from the White Sox, and Kenshin Kawakami from Japan should be an improvement over the injury-plagued pitching staff of last year, it is questionable how the Braves will compete in the N.L. East this season without having made changes to their outfield.

The Braves outfielders were last in the majors last season in home runs. Some reports still have the Braves interested in a deal that would bring either Xavier Nady or Nick Swisher from the Yankees, but little has been said of that since the Griffey pursuit began.

So, being three years removed from an N.L. East championship, Bravo Nation is getting a little antsy to get back to the postseason, where they once were 14 times in a row before!